It was founded in 1951 in Redruth. The original aims of the MK were primarily socio-cultural. Currently their philosophy is: 'Cornish, Green, Left of Centre, Decentralist'.
They won their first seat at local level on the Redruth-Camborne Urban Council in 1953. A schism in the early 1970s led to the formation of the Cornish Nationalist Party.
In the UK general election, 2001, MK polled 1.3% of the Cornish vote (up from 0.7% in 1997)
See also: British politics